Community News: Honey Bakery Accepting Online Orders, Smith & Change Changes Owners, and More

Jersey City

Photo from Honey Bakery

• While not open to the public, Honey Bakery is now accepting orders throughout the week which can be picked up or delivered on Saturday. They're offering their full range of menu favorites along with some specialty items, all their baked goods (including the cottage cheese cookies!) and items are available in larger format catering, as individual meals, and some are even offered frozen for home cooking. Orders can be placed through their Square store and Honey Bakery is even offering some specialty Thanksgiving dishes which can be ordered through Monday for special pick-up or delivery on Wednesday. Don't miss your chance to try this local favorite!

Project Eats 2017 Meet the Vendor: Prato Bakery

The Jersey City Project's Project Eats 2017 is back on 6/24 and 6/25 with new vendors and returning favorites, all ready to serve up some delicious, indulgent eats. To help get you ready, I'm excited to be collaborating with The Jersey City Project to spotlight some of the vendors from this year's Project Eats, learning more about their business, their food, and what they love about Jersey City.

This week, we're focusing on some favorite Jersey City vendors. Find out more about Prato Bakery, a favorite neighborhood spot, and learn some of their personal history as well as the history in their food.

Prato Controvery Pt. II

Several months ago, Prato Bakery, 61 Erie Street, faced some controversy when they were forced to close down the garden they were building and remove some of their indoor seating after being the subject of zoning complaints from a neighbor.

Recently, and most likely in response to the issues they faced, Prato applied for a Restaurant 2 variance which is scheduled to go before the Zoning Board this Thursday. From my understanding (based primarily on what I've read on the Harsimus Cove Association's FB page and some relatively simple Google searches) a Restaurant 2 variance would allow for indoor and outdoor seating, a full kitchen, and the possibility for alcohol to be served on premise with the appropriate liquor license.

Prato Bakery Controversy

Last week, Prato Bakery was the subject of some construction and zoning complaints from a nearby neighbor which led to a temporary removal of their tables and chairs. Obviously, this action affects their business and it created a lot of concern amongst the local community, even spurring a petition to Mayor Fulop.

Prato has quickly become a neighborhood favorite, serving up delicious foccacia, sandwiches, and cantucci, just to name a few, all made fresh and on-site. They are a small business putting out great products and to see them face a lot of bureacracy and red tape, as well as suffer perhaps unnecessary, expensive, and overly restrictive punishments, is not something anyone wants to see. However, there do seem to be some grounds for the complaint, but how much is yet to be determined.

Community News

• Congratulations to The Kitchen at Grove Station for their review and Very Good rating from the NYTimes
• Next Sunday, 5/3, is the first day of the Riverview Farmer's Market.
• The Community Food Program from Grace Community Services is seeking volunteers and supplies. Their breakfast plus program is relied upon by and feeds between 50-100 hungry members of the Jersey City Community every Saturday and Sunday.
• Congratulations to Prato Bakery for their official grand opening and ribbon cutting last week. 

Prato Bakery is Opening!

Prato Bakery, one of the many locations being developed along Erie St., announced today that they are planning on opening this Saturday, March 7th.

A Walk Down Erie St.

It seems like new restaurants are being announced by the day in Jersey City and Erie Street in particular is the recipient of a lot of new development.

Beginning on Erie and Newark, I took a walk going north towards Hamilton Park and saw a space in development every couple of blocks. While most of the spaces being worked on had papered-up windows, progress is definitely being made.

First up, of course, is the much-anticipated and long-awaited Talde and Carrino Provisions. They've been estimating an opening sometime in November which seems possible, but not guaranteed. But looking around, the space has definitely come a long way. All the construction areas blocking the sidewalk are gone and most of the renovation work seems to be done. While the windows are covered up now, on a previous walk-by, there was furniture and shelving in place and signs were up.

Down the block, in what used to be Balance Hair Salon, there will be a new coffeehouse called 9 Bar Cafe and per WiredJC, they're hoping to be open in approximately 5 weeks, around mid-December. I tried googling the name and didn't come up with much besides a coffeehouse in London, so that's still a bit of mystery.